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Howard University is regarded as the most prestigious historically black institution of higher education in the country. But the operations of the school in the nation’s capital have long been troubled in areas such as budget, financial aid, student housing, security, building maintenance and transparency. Now Howard is facing a huge new problem: The U.S. Education Department has placed Howard on a list that it really doesn’t want to be on.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s staff informed the school in an Aug. 13 letter that it had been moved to what is called HCM2, or “heightened cash monitoring,” status regarding federal financial aid funds. That means the school will no longer get millions of dollars in financial aid in advance to award to students but, instead, will have to give it to students and then seek reimbursement from the federal government.
The new status is a significant hardship for the school for reasons that go beyond the simple embarrassment of being lumped in with dozens of other troubled schools, among them a hair design school in Kentucky.
It will affect the monetary flow to the cash-strapped school, which already depends on a hefty annual allocation from Congress to operate. President Wayne A.I. Frederick said in an interview that the new status will require the school to provide laborious documentation of each financial aid award with no errors in any part of the application. The vast majority of students at Howard are on financial aid status, and almost half qualify for need-based Pell Grants. Howard officials said the amount of affected funds for the coming semester is $31,352,790.
This is just the latest piece of bad news in a turbulent year for Howard, including a financial aid scandal this past spring and a takeover of the administration building by students disgruntled with services at the school. They initially demanded Frederick’s resignation but ended the sit-in with him still in his job. Faculty members voted no-confidence in Frederick in April (though the school says most faculty members did not vote either way).
The Education Department letter’s first page cites a long list of problems that prompted it to take action and notes that Howard had “failed to provide all documentation requested” during past compliance audits and a recent program review. (The department letter refers to Title IV funds, which come from federal student aid programs including Pell Grants, Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans, Direct Graduate PLUS Loan, Direct PLUS Loan, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Perkins Loans and TEACH grants.)
Frederick, asked in an interview on Tuesday why the department had moved the university to HCM2 status, said, “I am not sure why.”
In an open letter he sent to the Howard community on Tuesday relaying news of the status change, Frederick linked it to a scandal earlier this year in the financial aid office. It was revealed that some employees had taken federal funds to which they were not entitled, and six were fired for “gross misconduct and neglect of duties” in connection with the misappropriation of $369,000 in financial aid.
The latest list of schools on “heightened cash monitoring” was released by the department in June, and has about 540 colleges, universities and vocational schools on it, most of them on a level less severe than the one Howard is now on. Howard now joins 66 others on a more severe monitoring status. They include the Shear Learning Academy of Cosmetology in Illinois, the Tri-State Institute of Hair Design in Kentucky and the Salon & Spa Institute in Texas.
Asked how he felt about his school now being the most prominent on the HCM2 list, Frederick said he was “not sure I would necessarily make that statement,” and then he referred to the inclusion of Michigan State University on the same list. Actually, Michigan State is on the HCM1 list, which is a less severe status than Howard. On HCM1 schools still get advance funds from the government. On HCM2, they don’t.
Frederick has been at Howard for years in various roles. He became provost in 2012, interim president in 2013 and the president of the school in 2014.
In the interview and his letter to the Howard community, he said that the school has taken action to clean up the problems of the past and that he believes there are now enough employees in the financial aid department to perform the required documentation needed for federal reimbursement.
A Howard spokesman said the school’s Office of Financial Aid had 10 employees in April 2018 but now has 15 staffers with three consulting partners. By October, the office will have 25 full-time staff, six consulting partners and five part-time administrative staff, with recruiting and hiring underway.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/educ...ist-it-doesnt-want-be/?utm_term=.a4b7aff09fc1
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s staff informed the school in an Aug. 13 letter that it had been moved to what is called HCM2, or “heightened cash monitoring,” status regarding federal financial aid funds. That means the school will no longer get millions of dollars in financial aid in advance to award to students but, instead, will have to give it to students and then seek reimbursement from the federal government.
The new status is a significant hardship for the school for reasons that go beyond the simple embarrassment of being lumped in with dozens of other troubled schools, among them a hair design school in Kentucky.
It will affect the monetary flow to the cash-strapped school, which already depends on a hefty annual allocation from Congress to operate. President Wayne A.I. Frederick said in an interview that the new status will require the school to provide laborious documentation of each financial aid award with no errors in any part of the application. The vast majority of students at Howard are on financial aid status, and almost half qualify for need-based Pell Grants. Howard officials said the amount of affected funds for the coming semester is $31,352,790.
This is just the latest piece of bad news in a turbulent year for Howard, including a financial aid scandal this past spring and a takeover of the administration building by students disgruntled with services at the school. They initially demanded Frederick’s resignation but ended the sit-in with him still in his job. Faculty members voted no-confidence in Frederick in April (though the school says most faculty members did not vote either way).
The Education Department letter’s first page cites a long list of problems that prompted it to take action and notes that Howard had “failed to provide all documentation requested” during past compliance audits and a recent program review. (The department letter refers to Title IV funds, which come from federal student aid programs including Pell Grants, Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans, Direct Graduate PLUS Loan, Direct PLUS Loan, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Perkins Loans and TEACH grants.)
Frederick, asked in an interview on Tuesday why the department had moved the university to HCM2 status, said, “I am not sure why.”
In an open letter he sent to the Howard community on Tuesday relaying news of the status change, Frederick linked it to a scandal earlier this year in the financial aid office. It was revealed that some employees had taken federal funds to which they were not entitled, and six were fired for “gross misconduct and neglect of duties” in connection with the misappropriation of $369,000 in financial aid.
The latest list of schools on “heightened cash monitoring” was released by the department in June, and has about 540 colleges, universities and vocational schools on it, most of them on a level less severe than the one Howard is now on. Howard now joins 66 others on a more severe monitoring status. They include the Shear Learning Academy of Cosmetology in Illinois, the Tri-State Institute of Hair Design in Kentucky and the Salon & Spa Institute in Texas.
Asked how he felt about his school now being the most prominent on the HCM2 list, Frederick said he was “not sure I would necessarily make that statement,” and then he referred to the inclusion of Michigan State University on the same list. Actually, Michigan State is on the HCM1 list, which is a less severe status than Howard. On HCM1 schools still get advance funds from the government. On HCM2, they don’t.
Frederick has been at Howard for years in various roles. He became provost in 2012, interim president in 2013 and the president of the school in 2014.
In the interview and his letter to the Howard community, he said that the school has taken action to clean up the problems of the past and that he believes there are now enough employees in the financial aid department to perform the required documentation needed for federal reimbursement.
A Howard spokesman said the school’s Office of Financial Aid had 10 employees in April 2018 but now has 15 staffers with three consulting partners. By October, the office will have 25 full-time staff, six consulting partners and five part-time administrative staff, with recruiting and hiring underway.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/educ...ist-it-doesnt-want-be/?utm_term=.a4b7aff09fc1
